— When time stands still.
This year's season opens with some of the most timeless music in existence. Bach's Cello Suite in G major, perhaps the most famous, sets the tone for the theme Time , with cellist Clara Friedensburg on stage — one of the rising stars recently handpicked for Talent Norway's new, international PODIUM initiative .
At this season opening in Bergen we will also hear Janáček's dramatic Violin Sonata, a work where everything between life and death is at stake, performed by violinist Mara Haugen and pianist Oda Voltersvik . The concert ends with one of Brahms ' great chamber music highlights: the Horn Trio in E flat major, with solo hornist Eirik Baardsen Haaland from Harmonien. The program is linked with texts about time, read by actress Juni Dahr . You can read more about the performers and the program further down this page.
Let yourself be embraced by the warmth of chamber music in January. Welcome to the season opening!
Eirik Baardsen Haaland horn
Mara Haugen violin
Oda Voltersvik piano
June Dahr actress
Duration approximately 1 hour and 30 minutes including interval.
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Johann Sebastian Bach (1685—1750)
Cello Suite No. 1 in G major, BWV 1007Leoš Janáček (1854—1928)
Violin Sonata (1914)Johannes Brahms (1833—1897)
Horn Trio in E flat major, Op. 40 -
Eirik Baardsen Haaland has in recent years established himself as one of the leading horn players of his generation. At the age of 22, he was offered a permanent position as principal horn player in the Trondheim Symphony Orchestra, and since the fall of 2024 he has worked in a similar position in the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra. In recent years, he has had several prestigious assignments with orchestras such as the Berliner Philharmoniker, London Symphony Orchestra, Mahler Chamber Orchestra, WDR Sinfonieorchester, Göteborg Symfoniker and BBC Philharmonic.
Eirik comes from Sandnes and has studied at the Norwegian Academy of Music and the State University of Music and Performing Arts in Stuttgart. His repertoire ranges from the very early horn repertoire to the most recent and newly written, and with the trio Ligetrio he has commissioned and premiered several new works for the ensemble of violin, horn and piano.
Violinist Mara Haugen is an active and recognized chamber musician in the Bergen community across several genres. She is described as an intuitive musician with a characteristically deep, soulful sound.
Mara began her violin studies at the Jazeps Vitols Music Academy in Riga before moving to Bergen in 2010, where she completed her master's degree at the Grieg Academy in 2015 under Ricardo Odriozola and David Stewart. Already during her studies, she worked with most orchestras in Norway, including the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra.
In recent years, Mara has actively contributed to promoting Norwegian contemporary music. In 2020, she founded Ensemble Eon, and since 2023, she has contributed to developing the concept orchestra Bergen Spectrum Orchestra. Mara collaborates regularly with a number of composers, and several of the CD recordings she has contributed to have been recognized both nationally and internationally. In 2019, “Chamber Works No. VI” by Ketil Hvoslef was nominated for the Spellemannprisen, and the same composer’s album “Chamber Works No. VII” In addition to “Svev: Chamber Works by Knut Vaage” received nominations for the German Opus Klassik in 2021.
Mara plays a violin made by N.F. Vuillaume from 1833.
Clara Yuna Friedensburg , winner of the Polstjärne Prize and recipient of the Prix Young Artist , grew up in a musical family and began playing the cello at the age of seven. She made her debut at the age of eleven with the Barratt Due Youth Orchestra and has since performed with renowned orchestras such as the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen, Gidon Kremer's Kremerata Baltica, the Göteborg Symphony Orchestra and the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra. Her highlights include appearances at the Verbier Festival, the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival, the Kronberg Festival, the Bachwoche Ansbach, the Sion Festival, the Copenhagen Summer Festival and the Festival der Nationen in Bad Wörishofen. A former Barratt Due student with teachers Ole Eirik Ree, Louisa Tuck, Ernst Simon Glaser and Tove Sinding-Larsen, Clara is now continuing her education at the prestigious Kronberg Academy with Frans Helmerson.
Clara plays a Francesco Ruggieri cello (Cremona 1688), generously placed at the disposal of Anders Sveaas' Almennyttige Fond (ASAF). As winner of the 31st competition of the German musical instrument foundation Stiftung Musikleben, she also plays a cello made by Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume (Paris, c. 1845). Her studies are financed through the Strauss patronage, ASAF, Tom Wilhelmsens Stiftelse and the Hans and Stefan Bernbeck scholarship.
Pianist Oda Voltersvik was born and raised in Bergen, and has performed at international festivals and venues such as Carnegie Weill Recital Hall, Victor Borge Hall, Wigmore Hall, St Martin-in-the-Fields, The Norwegian Opera & Ballet, Harpa in Reykjavik, Center for Chamber Music in Seattle, Bergen International Festival and Palermo Classica. Her recordings have received rave reviews for their thoughtful program choices, technical skills and artistic expression.
Voltersvik won first prize at the Bradshaw & Buono International Piano Competition in 2017, was a finalist in the Jaques Samuels Intercollegiate Competition in London in 2016 and was awarded the Norwegian State Artist Scholarship in 2021—2022. After a joint Bachelor's degree from the Grieg Academy in Bergen and the Royal College of Music in London, she completed a Master in Performance at the latter institution and an Artist Diploma at the Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance in London with highest distinction. For several years, she has toured including solo engagements in the USA with a visa for 'Individuals with extraordinary ability in the arts'.
Juni Dahr received her education at the Norwegian State Theatre School, as well as studies with Grotowski in Poland and the Actors Studio in New York. She was employed by Nationale Scene in Bergen for 12 years, but left Norwegian institutional theatre in 1988 to go to New York to create Joan of Arc: Vision Through Fire and establish herself as a freelance performing artist. Since then, she has toured and visited large parts of the world with her work.
Dahr is characterized by a continuous search for a close and direct style of performance. The venues are often non-traditional arenas. She is known for, among other things, Jeanne d`Arc, Ibsen's Women, Kristin Lavransdatter, Kassandra, Nora, A Doll's House, Hedda Gabler and Markens Grøde as well as roles in film and TV. She is artistic director and runs Visjoner Teater.
Dahr has received, among other things, the Fulbright Scholarship, the Critics Award in Los Angeles, the Monocle Prize in St. Petersburg, the Telenor Cultural Prize, the Eckboe Cultural Prize, the Oslo City Artist Prize, the Ibsen Prize in Skien and the Norwegian State Artist Scholarship over several years, to name a few.
We wish you an enjoyable, unique concert experience with us. Welcome!
Photo: Magnus Skrede (Voltersvik) / Marie von Krogh (Haaland) / Janne Møller Hansen (Dahr) / Nikolaj Lund (Friedensburg) / Øystein Haara (Haugen)